After months of denying that there would be any official public recognition
of Epcot's 25th anniversary next Monday,
Walt Disney World is now planning a rededication
ceremony and other events to commemorate the park, which opened on October
1, 1982. Disney's plans were perhaps spurred in part by the huge response
to the "Celebration
25" event created by Jenn Waitt and Adam Roth, and to a smaller event
called "The
Epcot Thing" created by Nathan Rose. The fact that several hundred
people were willing to travel to attend an unofficial event helped convince
Disney to involve the "Celebration 25" group in the official rededication
ceremony that takes place at the Fountain of Nations plaza behind Spaceship
Earth.

In addition to the 10:01 a.m. ceremonywhich echoes the park's original
dedication ceremonyEpcot is installing a special exhibit in the south
corridor of Innoventions West near the character
greeting location, distributing commemorative buttons to all park guests,
and adding a special ending tag for the evening's showing of Illuminations.
The tag will feature well-known Epcot music and the voice of Walt Disney,
most likely from "The Epcot Film," and will include perhaps as many shells
in the closing seconds as the show's entire holiday tag.

"Retro" guidebooks, menus and other souvenirs will also be involved in the
event. The Innoventions exhibit will be in place through at least the end
of the year; we'll bring you photos from the exhibit in the October 8 Park
Update.

Also, park guests will have the opportunity to chat with Imagineering Ambassador
Marty Sklar in the Circle of Life Theater
inside The Land pavilion, though seating will be limited. World
Showcase restaurants will also get into the act, providing menus reminiscent
of the original 1982 menus. It will be interesting to see how that integrates
with the opening week of the Epcot International
Food & Wine Festival.

Despite that, much of Disney's focus remains on cast-oriented events, as
originally planned. The 300 opening-day cast members who still work there
will be recognized, and other giveaways, decorations and celebrations are
also involved.

Moms panel shuts out applicants

The application period for the Disney World Moms panel has closed well ahead
of schedule. Originally
announced for September 6 through October 5, Disney had only planned to
allow 5,000 applications. Response was so strong that the application cap
was increased to 10,000 within the first week, and within the week after,
the application period was closedabout three weeks early.

"We have reached our maximum capacity of 10,000 applications.
Therefore, our application period has concluded at this time. Your interest
in the panel is very important to us. Please come back in January and meet
the panelists, ask your questions and learn how to get the most from your
vacation! Thanks for visiting!"

Those who visited the site back when we first ran
the story did not see any message about a cap on applications, and were
caught unaware when the site suddenly shut down. Many who were taking their
time in planning their responses have made known their disappointment in being
closed out well before the application period ended. While it's understandable
that Disney can only process so many applications, as each one must be read
and evaluated individually, it's surprising that they would expect that it
would take a month to get 5,000 applications. It's also disappointing that
they did not note the cap on applications right from the start.

Good luck to those MousePlanet readers that did get their applications in
successfully. Let
us know if you make it onto the panel!

Main Street, U.S.A. is decorated for the season on a beautiful fall day. Photo
by Brian Bennett.

More Epcot dining news

Disney has made more restaurant-related dining announcements for Epcot, though
some have already been reported. You can read the full
announcement on the Announcements section of our MousePad discussion forums,
but here's a quick rundown:

Tutto Italia Ristorante is finally open in the Italy
pavilion. The restaurant, which means "everything Italian," features cuisine
from different regions of Italy. It features an open kitchen, freshly-made
breads and pastries, handmade mozzarella and pasta and an array of Italian
wines.

"My inspiration for Tutto Italia was the incredible variety of cuisines that
I have enjoyed during my visits to Italy," said Chef Joachim Splichal. "I
wanted to distill that experience and create a restaurant with some of my
favorite dishes."

Tokyo Dining and Teppan Edo are expected to open in the Japan
pavilion during the month of October (The reservations system is telling agents
that it opens October 14, but no reservations seem to be available for booking
before November 1). Teppan Edo is the name of the redesigned teppanyaki rooms,
which now feature Wagyu and Kobe beef. Tokyo Dining combines the former tempura
bar and sushi lounge into a 140-seat restaurant with a show stage for sushi
chefs. Tempura, grilled steaks, and seafood join sushi and sashimi on the
menu.

"This is not a renovation, but a complete redevelopment," said Yutaro Iwamura,
director of business for Mitsukoshi USA.

Recent changes at the China pavilion include
the upgrade of the Lotus Blossom Cafe to
add more authentic Chinese cuisine and the addition of a Joy of Tea cart featuring
frozen green tea mixtures and alcoholic drinks.

Meanwhile, China's Nine Dragons restaurant
closes early next year for a major conversion to include five interactive
cooking stations, and is scheduled to reopen next fall.

Get your MousePlanet gear!

The MousePlanet.com store is now open for business
(link)!
You can get shirts, mugs, hats and even a Teddy Bear! Check it out and
show your MousePlanet pride!

Cirque prices going up

When La Nouba returns from its week off on October 2, it will feature higher
ticket prices. The Cirque du Soleil show at Downtown
Disney is raising prices by $1 to $2 plus tax. All prices below include
6.5 percent sales tax:

Category

Guest

Old Price

New Price

Front and Center

Adult (Ages 10+)

$119.28

$121.41

Child (Ages 3-9)

$95.85

$96.92

1

Adult (Ages 10+)

$103.31

$105.44

Child (Ages 3-9)

$83.07

$84.14

2

Adult (Ages 10+)

$84.14

$86.27

Child (Ages 3-9)

$67.10

$69.23

3

Adult (Ages 10+)

$67.10

$69.23

Child (Ages 3-9)

$53.25

$55.38

Walt Disney World gives $10 million toward new children's
hospital building

Walt Disney World and Disney Worldwide Outreach presented a $10 million contribution
to Florida Children's Hospital last Wednesday, the largest gift to a hospital
ever from the Walt Disney Company (the company gave $5 million to Children's
Hospital Los Angeles last year). The hospital is expanding from 155 beds to
200 beds when the new center is completed in 2010.

Florida Children's Hospital, run by Florida Hospital, is adding the Disney
name, but the final name of the medical center is yet to be announced. The
children's hospital is currently served by nearly 60 pediatric specialists
and over 600 employees. The "Children's Hospital of the Future" will have
200 beds; private, family- centered pediatric rooms; a dedicated pediatric
Emergency Department; an Advanced Center for Pediatric Surgery; destination
pediatric programs including advanced surgery, oncology, neurosurgery, cardiology,
transplant services, and full-service pediatrics; and an innovative Health
and Obesity platform.

"This contribution is part of our ongoing commitment to making dreams come
true for the children of Central Florida," said Meg Crofton, president of
Walt Disney World Resort. "Even during uncertain times, children want and
need to play, to exercise their imaginations, and to dream. At Disney, we
thrive on that kind of imaginative energy, and we hope to bring some of that
same spirit to this special place that will provide care for the children
of our community."

"This partnership with Disney is blending our two areas of expertise: the
healing hands of Florida Children's Hospital and the imagination and creativity
of Disney," said Marla Silliman, administrator of Florida Children's Hospital.
"By bringing them together, we are creating an environment in which even the
sickest children can experience joy and happiness while they are in the hospital."

Florida Children's Hospital is one of what will be three children's hospitals
in the Orlando area. The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, run by Orlando
Regional Medical Center, is already up and running, while the Nemours Foundation
plans to open a children's hospital in nearby Lake Nona.

Disney has also worked with the Arnold Palmer Hospital, which sports a scale
model of Cinderella Castle in its lobby. Disney Parks & Resorts Vice President
for Operations Al Weiss noted that Disney expects to establish a relationship
with Nemours, as well.

Town Square is decorated with bunting in autumn colors. Photo by Brian Bennett.

Yet another cast member arrested for kiddie porn; do
you want us to keep reporting these?

Another Walt Disney World cast member was arrested for possessing child pornography
over the weekend, it was reported by Orlando local televisionstations.
Apparently, Darren Roberts, who worked at Disney's
Animal Kingdom, left his laptop computer in a laundry room at his apartment
complex. When it was found and turned into the complex's office, the staff
there turned on the computer to try to find out who owned it, and found files
of photos of child pornography, as well as a separate photo of Roberts. Somehow,
it took from April until this past weekend for police to arrest Roberts, who
admitted that the laptop was his.

We've received some email asking us why we keep reporting stories like this,
and why the stories sometimes use very descriptive language. Please let
us know whether this is something that you'd like for us to continue reporting,
or whether you'd rather that we just leave it to the Orlando newspapers and
television stations.

Menus wanted!

Want to help MousePlanet upgrade our park guides?
We're looking to add menu information for all restaurants to our Walt
Disney World Park Guide (link). Send
photos or scans of menus (no fair copying from other Web sites) to menus@mouseplanet.com
(link). Please note that
there is a 5MB limit on total attachments in a single email.

Construction Update

This week's listing of interesting items from paperwork filed with Orange
County last week:

Rehab work will take place on the ferryboat dock pilings at the Magic
Kingdom and Ticket and Transportation Center.

Renovation of the existing floating dock structure at the Mexico Friendship
dock in Epcot's World Showcase.

Installation of guardrails around 9 new sycamore trees which have been
planted along the walls near and on both sides of the bridge leading from
the France pavilion to the small island
on the World Showcase Lagoon.

Repairs will take place along the ramp walkway in front of the Canada
Pavilion.

Imagineering has filed paperwork for the installation of the rigging package
at "Siemens Spaceship Earth."

Installation of three sprinkler headsat a new canopy on New York Street
at the Disney-MGM Studios.

Installation of remote condensers on the roof of the High Rock Spring
Pool Bar at the Saratoga Springs Resort
for the cooler and for new split air conditioning systems.

Scarecrows decorate the plantings in Town Square. Photo by Jeff Kober. For
more great photos of this year's holiday decorations, check out Jeff's photo
tour from last week.

Quick takes

The "National Treasures" exhibit at the American
Adventure pavilion opens this Friday, featuring such historic items as
one of President Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hats and a tribute to America's
melting pot, including memorabilia from African-American baseball great Jackie
Robinson, Native-American space explorer John Herrington and Japanese-American
World War II hero Sen. Daniel Inouye. Other items on display include one of
the microscopes used by George Washington Carver and original inventions of
Thomas Edison. The exhibit will be officially dedicated as part of Epcot's
25th anniversary celebration next Monday.

The new High School Musical 2: School's Out! caravan debuted yesterday,
replacing the old High School Musical Pep Rally at the Disney-MGM Studios.

Nov. 19-25, 2007 and Dec. 16, 2007-Jan. 2, 2008. DVC members may not pool-hop
on these dates.

Walt Disney World trivia question of the week

This week's question:This week's question was submitted by MousePlanet
reader JillAnn. The land of Africa in
the Animal Kingdom consists of one village:
Harambe. In Swahili, what does Harambe mean? Stay tuned to next week's
park update for the answer.

The answer to last week's question: "How many triangles make
up the surface of Spaceship Earth, and what
are they made of?", is:

The Wonders of Life pavilion  has again closed, perhaps forever
and perhaps just until next Thanksgiving weekend. It appears that The
Making of Me is being dismantled to clear the central area for use as
the Festival Center for the 2007 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

Nine Dragons  closes in early
2008 for renovations that include the creation of an exhibition kitchen.
It is expected to reopen in fall 2008.

All-Star Sports Resort  All buildings
will be renovated between June 2007 and February 2008. The Surfboard Bay
pool will be closed August 27  October 4 for refurbishment. Guests
can use the Grand Slam pool at All-Star Sports or the feature pools at the
other All-Star resorts.

Animal Kingdom Lodge  Much of
the resort's main buiding (Jambo House) is closed through the beginning
of October during conversion of rooms for the Animal Kingdom Villas DVC
resort. Construction of the Kidani Village annex building for the villas
is expected to take until spring 2009.

Caribbean Beach Resort  The feature
pool will be closed for renovation January 7mid-September, 2008. Temporary
"child-sized" slides will be added to the quiet pools in the Jamaica and
Barbados Villages while the main pool is closed.

Current Discounts & Promotions

Hotel Royal Plaza offers discounts to MousePlanet readers

MousePlanet sponsor Hotel Royal Plaza, in the Downtown Disney resort area,
has enhanced its deal for MousePlanet readers. From now through the end of
the year, anyone booking
their stay through the MousePlanet Web site has been able to receive discounted
rates up to 20 percent off on all room types. Now, for a limited time, you
can get even more! The discounted rates now include free breakfast for two
in the Giraffe Cafe!. Plus children 10 and under always eat breakfast for
free! (Two children 10 and under eat free from the kids menu when accompanied
by an adult dining from the regular menu.)

The completely-remodeled 394-room resort is located on Hotel Plaza Boulevard,
just a few minutes' walk from Downtown Disney. Bus service to all Walt Disney
World theme parks is included with your stay. Their Giraffe Cafe restaurant,
Giraffe Tavern sports bar, Marketessen deli-style cafe and Sips Pool Bar are
ready to serve you.

August/September passholder, Florida resident discounts announced

Disney has released discounted room rates for passholders and Florida residents
for August and September. Discounts are available for select Disney Vacation
Club and deluxe resorts for most nights from August 5 to September 29, and
at moderate and value resorts for most nights August 59, August 1229
and September 229.

For passholders and Florida residents, the DVC rates start at $164 per night
plus tax in a studio at the Old Key West
or Saratoga Springs Resorts. Prices go up
from there depending on the resort and accommodations.

In addition to those two DVC resorts, discounts are also available at all
deluxe resorts, with passholder rates $5 per night less than Florida resident
rates. Some sample rates are garden view rooms at the Polynesian
($249 passholder/$254 resident), Contemporary
($225/$230) and Grand Floridian ($295/$300).

Rates at the moderates start at $94 per night for passholders and $99 per
night for Florida residents. Value resorts start at $64 for both passholders
and Florida residents.

Minimum stay requirements apply for Friday and Saturday arrivals. All rates
can be booked up until the date of arrival. Passholders and Florida residents
can book via your respective Web sites, by calling your travel agent (Small
World Vacations is MousePlanet's preferred Disney travel provider) or
by calling 407-560-7277 for passholders or 407-560-7722 for Florida residents.

Discount codes are FDR (passholder) and FDT (Florida residents).

Passholder, Florida resident discounts announced through end of the year

Disney has released discounted room rates for passholders and Florida residents
for the end of September through md-December. Discounts are available for
select resorts for most nights from September 30 through December 23. (The
nights of November 21-24 and November 30-December 7 are excluded at non-DVC
resorts, most likely due to Thanksgiving weekend and the Pop Warner Super
Bowl invasion, while only the Thanksgiving dates are blocked at the DVC resorts.)
There are two effective rate periods for this discount, with September 30-October
3, November 25-29, and December 8-19 carrying passholder rates of $59 per
night in value resorts and $164 per night in a DVC studio. The remaining dates
in the promotion period (except for the nights of November 21-24, which have
no discounts due to Thanksgiving weekend) have nightly passholder rates starting
at $79 for values and $194 for DVC studios. Florida resident rates are $5
higher than passholder rates.

Minimum stay requirements apply for Friday and Saturday arrivals. All rates
can be booked up until the date of arrival. Passholders and Florida residents
can book via your respective Web sites, by calling your travel agent (Small
World Vacations is MousePlanet's preferred Disney travel provider) or
by calling 407-560-7277 for passholders or 407-560-7722 for Florida residents.

An interesting twist on this deal is that, for certain check-in dates, you
can get a Disney Dining Card with $20-$100 per room with your minimum 2-night
reservation. This perk is available for stays with check-in dates between
October 21-November 3, November 11-17 and December 9-15. The card can be used
toward food & beverage only, and not toward merchandise.

Rooms available at these rates are very limited, and they're going quickly!

Magic Your Way package discounts also available through end of the year

Discounted Magic Your Way packages have been released for most nights from
September 30 through December 23. (Check-in dates of November 20-23 and November
29-December 7 are excluded, most likely due to Thanksgiving weekend and the
Pop Warner Super Bowl invasion.) Packages can be booked as straight Magic
Your Way packages or as Magic Your Way Plus Dining.

Availability is extremely limited, and you must book these packages by September
26.

Disney's Price Slice golf rates are back

Disney's popular summer golf discount program, Disney's Price Slice, will
return from May 14 through September 27. During that time, a round of golf
at any of the Walt Disney World courses
will be less expensive after 10 a.m. daily, due to the heat of the summer
season. The Magnolia, Palm, Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge courses will carry
a fee of $55, while the Lake Buena Vista course will cost $45. Rates include
the use of an electric cart, and are $34-$44 cheaper than regular rates.

The rates include the use of an electric cart and are discounted from the
before-10 a.m. prices of $99 for resort guests/$109 for day visitors (Magnolia
and Osprey Ridge), $89 for resort guests/$99 for day visitors (Palm and Eagle
Pines) and $79 for resort guests/$89 for day visitors (Lake Buena Vista).
To reserve a tee time, call 407-WDW-GOLF (407-939-4653) or go to the Disney
Golf Web site (link).
Note that the site's front page still appears to have difficulty with browsers
other than Internet Explorer. Once you get past the front page, you should
be all right.

Comments

About MousePlanet

MousePlanet is your independent consumer guide to Disney travel and vacations, covering Disneyland, Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line. Look to MousePlanet for daily news, weekly theme park updates, and detailed travel and resort guides for your favorite Disney destinations. As with any endeavor of this size and complexity, we couldn't hope to succeed without the assistance of our readers. We encourage you to submit news, updates and feedback from your Disney travels.

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MousePlanet is not associated in any official way with the Walt Disney Company, its subsidiaries. or its affiliates. The official Disney site is available at www.disney.com. This MousePlanet Web site provides independent news articles, commentary, editorials, reviews. and guides about the Walt Disney Co. All information on this site is subject to change. Please contact destinations in advance to confirm the most up-to-date information.